Before the Storm - Updated Product Description

The product description for the pre-patch novel Before the Storm by Christie Golden has updated again recently, emphasizing the reactions of Anduin and Sylvanas to Azerite.\r\rThis novel covers the transition from Legion to Battle for Azeroth, exploring how faction leaders react to Azerite. After the novel concludes, the plot continues in the Collector's Edition Novellas - Elegy and A Good War.\r\rThis detail came to our attention in a Reddit thread by Krainz. We looked at past versions of the product page on the Wayback Machine and the description appears to have updated sometime after February 25th.\r\rNew Product Description:\rAn all-new, official prequel novel to The Battle for Azeroth, Blizzard Entertainment\u2019s next expansion to the critically acclaimed World of Warcraft videogame.\r\rAzeroth is dying.\r\rThe Horde and the Alliance defeated the demonic Burning Legion, but a dire catastrophe is unfolding deep below the surface of the world. There is a mortal wound in the heart of Azeroth, struck by the sword of the fallen titan Sargeras in a final act of cruelty.\r\rFor Anduin Wrynn, king of Stormwind, and Sylvanas Windrunner, warchief of the Horde and queen of the Forsaken, there is little time to rebuild what remains and even less to mourn what was lost. Azeroth\u2019s devastating wound has revealed a mysterious material known as Azerite. In the right hands, this strange golden substance is capable of incredible feats of creation; in the wrong ones, it could bring forth unthinkable destruction.\r\rAs Alliance and Horde forces race to uncover the secrets of Azerite and heal the wounded world, Anduin enacts a desperate plan aimed at forging a lasting peace between the factions. Azerite jeopardizes the balance of power, and so Anduin must gain the trust of Sylvanas. But, as ever, the Dark Lady has her own machinations.\r\rFor peace to be possible, generations of bloodshed and hatred must be brought to and end. But there are truths that neither side is willing to accept and ambitions they are loath to relinquish. As Alliance and Horde alike grasp for the Azerite\u2019s power, their simmering conflict threatens to reignite all-out war\u2014a war that would spell doom for Azeroth.\r\rThis product description emphasizes the dangers of Azerite and places Sylvanas as the aggressor once again. Her actions continue to be controversial--in the last patch alone we've seen her using Blight and raising skeletons as well as executing Night Elf civilians. Based on this product description it seems Anduin reacted to the Azerite by calling for peace while Sylvanas has separate plans. \r\rIn the chapter sampler provided at BlizzCon, we learned that Sylvanas is interested in attacking Stormwind.\r\rHere are past versions of the product description.\r\rVersion 2:\r\rAn all-new, official prequel novel to The Battle for Azeroth, Blizzard Entertainment\u2019s next expansion to the critically acclaimed World of Warcraft.\r \rVersion 2:\rIn Before the Storm, Anduin Wrynn, king of Stormwind, and Sylvanas Windrunner, warchief of the Horde, are new to their positions of power, both ascending before they were truly prepared. As the Alliance and the Horde struggle to recover from the devastating war with the demonic Burning Legion, a terrible discovery will test both leaders, threatening to reignite the bitter enmity between their factions and shake the very foundations of the world of Azeroth.\r\rVersion 1:\rAn all-new, official tie-in novel to Blizzard Entertainment\u2019s critically acclaimed World of Warcraft, from New York Times bestselling author Christie Golden.\r\rTaking place after the climactic events of Shadows of Argus, World of Warcraft: Before the Storm tells the story of what awaits the heroes of the Horde and the Alliance in the wake of their struggle against the demonic Burning Legion.

Commenti

Commento di Iceman3317

on 2018-04-21T06:42:32-05:00

At this point, I don't think it is possible for Blizzard to make it about 'Point of View' it is obvious now that Sylvanis is the bad guy. Now she might be under the influence of the Old Gods, but there is no way to make it seem like point of view.

Commento di Romanthony

on 2018-04-21T06:48:42-05:00

Blizzard seem to be really going back to there roots, making the horde the evil factions once again which as a horde main really makes me mad.

Commento di Grey117

on 2018-04-21T06:55:16-05:00

Blizzard seem to be really going back to there roots, making the horde the evil factions once again which as a horde main really makes me mad.\r\ronly if you judge a race based on single individuals. There are enough people on both sides which have good and bad intentions. We can see this in BfA as well - like Saurfang, the Tauren or many others.

Commento di landjones

on 2018-04-21T07:09:29-05:00

I must say that the story we know so far is extremely bad for the Horde. There is no faction pride. I hope with this book things change a bit, but it's hard to expect anything different than Horde = evil & Ally = Good.

Commento di Philosophercat

on 2018-04-21T07:10:30-05:00

Blizzard seem to be really going back to there roots, making the horde the evil factions once again which as a horde main really makes me mad.

only if you judge a race based on single individuals. There are enough people on both sides which have good and bad intentions. We can see this in BfA as well - like Saurfang, the Tauren or many others.

I wish more people understood this. Sylvanas may treat herself and the Horde as interchangeable concepts but that's more about her narcissism than any reflection of how things really stand.

I'll make a prediction: Anduin will not have enough support in the Alliance for his peace plan and have to compromise on his values as a result. It came up way back in The Shattering, when he wondered why Thrall did not condemn the attack on the Sentinels in Ashenvale. He concluded that "sometimes you can't do what you want. You need to build support." It would explain his seemingly OOC unwavering commitment to war atm; he tried going w\/ his own inclination for reconciliation but even his own people were against him.

Commento di JaceDraccus

on 2018-04-21T07:12:35-05:00

I'm starting to think the people complaining about the Horde being portrayed as bad guys have a point.

Commento di 1213501

on 2018-04-21T07:13:57-05:00

This post was from a user who has deleted their account.

Commento di Flyn

on 2018-04-21T07:22:06-05:00

Blizzard seem to be really going back to there roots, making the horde the evil factions once again which as a horde main really makes me mad.\r\ronly if you judge a race based on single individuals. There are enough people on both sides which have good and bad intentions. We can see this in BfA as well - like Saurfang, the Tauren or many others.\r\rI wish more people understood this. Sylvanas may treat herself and the Horde as interchangeable concepts but that's more about her narcissism than any reflection of how things really stand.\r\rIt's quite hard to understand that when everytime you see a horde character in bfa he's just here to praise lich queen Sylvanas and be as evil as possible in the shortest amount of time. As far as I know Saurfang had no problem slaughtering civilians until sylvanas blew up her own troops at lordaeron, on top of that he's no longer a part of the horde.

Commento di Synea

on 2018-04-21T07:27:51-05:00

LOL. This reads like the product description of another expansion that clearly a prelude to BfA.

As Alliance and Horde forces race to uncover the secrets of Azerite and heal the wounded world, Anduin enacts a desperate plan aimed at forging a lasting peace between the factions. Azerite jeopardizes the balance of power, and so Anduin must gain the trust of Sylvanas. But, as ever, the Dark Lady has her own machinations.

For peace to be possible, generations of bloodshed and hatred must be brought to and end. But there are truths that neither side is willing to accept and ambitions they are loath to relinquish. As Alliance and Horde alike grasp for the Azerite\u2019s power, their simmering conflict threatens to reignite all-out war\u2014a war that would spell doom for Azeroth.

Really. REALLY. What, exactly is the Alliance unwilling to accept or relinquish?Oh wait, that Sylvanas "isn't evil" even though she attacked them, burned their stuff, murdered their civilians, blight bombed her own troops and defiled their corpses?

"The Horde and the Alliance defeated the demonic Burning Legion"

WRONG.

The Alliance defeated them, the horde wasted a bit of time looking for a way to make Sylvanus immortal and then sat back and did sweet bugger all.

Aside from the Blood Elves, who aided at Suramar and Argus.

So basically, the Alliance and the Blood Elves defeated the Burning Legion while the Horde took credit.

Commento di bloodmoth13

on 2018-04-21T07:28:24-05:00

Blizzard seem to be really going back to there roots, making the horde the evil factions once again which as a horde main really makes me mad.\r\ronly if you judge a race based on single individuals. There are enough people on both sides which have good and bad intentions. We can see this in BfA as well - like Saurfang, the Tauren or many others.\r\rYou have to though, the horde has already lived under tyrany that we overthrew, you would think they would have a lot more resistance to this kind of thing the second time around but we are all just playing to the tune of another evil warchief. Whats more, voljin, whom overthrew garrosh, appointed sylvanas as warchief knowing exactly who she is, thereby condoning everything she would accomplish in advance. there are no takebacks for him now he made that decision, so hes equal party to this as far as im concerned and is guilty of everything sylvanas does, meaning if shes evil so is frikkin voljin and if he had no idea, then hes the biggest idiot in wow, which is arguably worse than being evil.

Commento di RobNajjar

on 2018-04-21T07:30:44-05:00

"The Horde and the Alliance defeated the demonic Burning Legion"\r\rWRONG.\r\rThe Alliance defeated them, the horde wasted a bit of time looking for a way to make Sylvanus immortal and then sat back and did sweet bugger all.\r\rTo be fair, neither faction fought the legion post BS, it was the class orders, with the exception of suramar to a degree

Commento di Felizzle

on 2018-04-21T07:32:13-05:00

"The Horde and the Alliance defeated the demonic Burning Legion"

WRONG.

The Alliance defeated them, the horde wasted a bit of time looking for a way to make Sylvanus immortal and then sat back and did sweet bugger all.

Sylvanas looked for a way to make herself immortal, the Horde champions (in their respective roles as class leaders) did just as much as the alliance ones against the legion. Get your facts right.

Commento di Synea

on 2018-04-21T07:33:28-05:00

"The Horde and the Alliance defeated the demonic Burning Legion"\r\rWRONG.\r\rThe Alliance defeated them, the horde wasted a bit of time looking for a way to make Sylvanus immortal and then sat back and did sweet bugger all.\r\rTo be fair, neither faction fought the legion post BS, it was the class orders, with the exception of suramar to a degree\r\rAnd the Draenei and Velen who build the Vindicaar and lead the assault on Argus alongside the Army of Light, Alleria and Turalyon, Vereesa, Arator (Alliance), Liadrin and Aethas (Blood Elf) and Khadgar (neutral).

Commento di SimianSteam

on 2018-04-21T07:34:04-05:00

I'm totally OK with The Horde being the bad guys again, but if that's the case then let us be evil. I want to burn Goldshire, be able to camp in the Human starting zone and waste lowbies, and generally just make life terrible for the alliance, because that's what the baddies do. Mwahaha!

Commento di Daelaam

on 2018-04-21T07:34:19-05:00

I don't really care about Anduin and Sylvanas.I just want more Jaina.

Commento di Synea

on 2018-04-21T07:36:55-05:00

I'm totally OK with The Horde being the bad guys again, but if that's the case then let us be evil. I want to burn Goldshire, be able to camp in the Human starting zone and waste lowbies, and generally just make life terrible for the alliance, because that's what the baddies do. Mwahaha!\r\rThat's fine, but why can't Blizzard give you your own faction.\r\rThe Forsaken Horde. Or just the Forsaken. Or the Scourge 2. Or the First Great and Bountiful Waifu Empire.\rJust... stop.. dragging me down to this depravity. I want no part of it.

Commento di Donhorn

on 2018-04-21T07:37:55-05:00

Blizzard seem to be really going back to there roots, making the horde the evil factions once again which as a horde main really makes me mad.\r\ronly if you judge a race based on single individuals. There are enough people on both sides which have good and bad intentions. We can see this in BfA as well - like Saurfang, the Tauren or many others.\r\rYou have to though, the horde has already lived under tyrany that we overthrew, you would think they would have a lot more resistance to this kind of thing the second time around but we are all just playing to the tune of another evil warchief. Whats more, voljin, whom overthrew garrosh, appointed sylvanas as warchief knowing exactly who she is, thereby condoning everything she would accomplish in advance. there are no takebacks for him now he made that decision, so hes equal party to this as far as im concerned and is guilty of everything sylvanas does, meaning if shes evil so is frikkin voljin and if he had no idea, then hes the biggest idiot in wow, which is arguably worse than being evil.\r\rWell... Voljin's whole thing was "I don't know what de spirits be thinkin' but dey be sayin' Sylvanas should be de new Warchief. I hope de spirits know what dey be doin'." The rest of the Horde after that though... they really should have turned on her the moment she laid out her plans for this war. Just said "NOPE! NOT DOING THIS AGAIN! SCREW VOLJIN'S SPIRITS PUT BAINE IN CHARGE!"

Commento di SimianSteam

on 2018-04-21T07:39:43-05:00

I'm totally OK with The Horde being the bad guys again, but if that's the case then let us be evil. I want to burn Goldshire, be able to camp in the Human starting zone and waste lowbies, and generally just make life terrible for the alliance, because that's what the baddies do. Mwahaha!\r\rThat's fine, but why can't Blizzard give you your own faction.\r\rThe Forsaken Horde. Or just the Forsaken. Or the Scourge 2. Or the First Great and Bountiful Waifu Empire.\rJust... stop.. dragging me down to this depravity. I want no part of it.\r\rEh, I'm kinda hoping we're seeing the beginning of the end of factions in general. It's getting old, and sucks that huge swaths of the map are off limits to you if you only play one side. Wouldn't it be nice to see an actual d\u00e9tente, and then the rise of a REAL Big Bad that Horde and Alliance can truly unite to fight?

Commento di Eruanne

on 2018-04-21T07:43:59-05:00

I'm totally OK with The Horde being the bad guys again, but if that's the case then let us be evil. I want to burn Goldshire, be able to camp in the Human starting zone and waste lowbies, and generally just make life terrible for the alliance, because that's what the baddies do. Mwahaha!\r\rThat's fine, but why can't Blizzard give you your own faction.\r\rThe Forsaken Horde. Or just the Forsaken. Or the Scourge 2. Or the First Great and Bountiful Waifu Empire.\rJust... stop.. dragging me down to this depravity. I want no part of it.\r\rEh, I'm kinda hoping we're seeing the beginning of the end of factions in general. It's getting old, and sucks that huge swaths of the map are off limits to you if you only play one side. Wouldn't it be nice to see an actual d\u00e9tente, and then the rise of a REAL Big Bad that Horde and Alliance can truly unite to fight?\r\rI remember someone saying, that would be the last of it in this expansion. Forgot the name of the dev... god damn!\r\rAnd wasn't it confirmed that it was theold gods whispered to Vul'jin and not the loa? and vul'jin didn't notice because he was... dieing.. or something

Commento di Synea

on 2018-04-21T07:56:40-05:00

I'm totally OK with The Horde being the bad guys again, but if that's the case then let us be evil. I want to burn Goldshire, be able to camp in the Human starting zone and waste lowbies, and generally just make life terrible for the alliance, because that's what the baddies do. Mwahaha!\r\rThat's fine, but why can't Blizzard give you your own faction.\r\rThe Forsaken Horde. Or just the Forsaken. Or the Scourge 2. Or the First Great and Bountiful Waifu Empire.\rJust... stop.. dragging me down to this depravity. I want no part of it.\r\rEh, I'm kinda hoping we're seeing the beginning of the end of factions in general. It's getting old, and sucks that huge swaths of the map are off limits to you if you only play one side. Wouldn't it be nice to see an actual d\u00e9tente, and then the rise of a REAL Big Bad that Horde and Alliance can truly unite to fight?\r\rThat's what I wanted to, and hoped Legion would naturally flow into.... not this.\r\rHell, this book's description seems to want to rub salt in the wound. \r"Hey everyone! Our perfect lovely golden haired boy king Anduin totally wants peace and unification! We could put an end to this pointless faction conflict and truly unite to save the world! If it wasn't for the horribly evil and malicious Dark Lady and her evil evil plans, of course! NONE of this is the Alliance's fault! If ONLY the Horde wasn't so evil and savage.."